Forza Horizon Review

Forza Motorsport is a very popular and world-renowned racing franchise that’s recognized for its stunning visuals and flawless presentation; Forza truly gives you that “Professional Race Driver” feel. With the release of Forza Horizon in 2012, Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games decided to take a new spin on the series and focus on a more laid-back style, filled with nonstop fun. In the middle of all this is the Horizon Festival, an event held in their digital rendition of the wonderful state of Colorado. The festival is basically half racing competition and half ongoing concert. The whole point of the story is to climb the ranks, earning wristbands that will give you access to more races.

The Good- 

I’m glad that Turn 10 teamed up with Playground because they’ve brought in a new style of racing and atmosphere to the Forza world. Instead of racing on private racetracks, you’re now free roaming and speeding through what seems to be hundreds of miles of asphalt and dirt. There are a lot of races to attend, and they also have showcase events where you’re donned with a specific task, and if you come out of it successfully you get a free car! Now who wouldn’t want one of those? What’s great about Horizon is that it appeals to both hardcore Forza fans and newcomers alike. The main goal of this release was to have car lovers become gamers, and gamers become car lovers. I think that Turn 10 has done a great job in doing that. Horizon gives you the customization of older Forza games, but have toned it down for those not very familiar with the franchise. Turn 10 has kept the rewind button in there for those who make a lot of mistakes, and if you think the AI controlled racers are a bit too fast for you there’s an option to drop the difficulty, or even turn on/off traction control. Another thing this game has going for it is very high replay value, with many collectibles to be found and lots of roads to be driven. 

The Bad- 

There is a huge lack of cars in this installment of Forza. Past titles had at least 100+ cars available from the start, but Horizon only gives you a little over half of that. This isn’t much of a problem, but it lacks that variety that people are used to seeing in Forza games. A glaring mistake I found was that the customization wasn’t only simplified, but basically reworked, and tweaking your vehicle (tire pressure, cambers, how much power is put into brakes, where all that brake power goes, etc.) is removed. Instead the parts that you buy will affect the overall way your car performs, but just not as much as it normally would have in previous titles. The only other problem that I’ve encountered was the story itself. The game was long lasting, but the story was short lived. However, with little to no interaction with other people, and considering the fact that your character never speaks, that was somewhat of a given.

Verdict- 

Forza Horizon is a great game. Turn 10 has made a great choice to team up with Playground Games to implement more of a relaxed play style that can be easily picked up by all types of gamers. Horizon shows how well a company can make a game look pretty and back it up with smooth controls! I’m not telling you to buy this wonderful game, I’m just approaching the game from a different perspective, and if you like the game enough, hopefully you’ll get it and have the same awesome experience I have! If not, it’s worth a rent, or at least going over to your buddies’ place and playing.